Römisches Südwesttor

The Roman Southwest Gate once stood on the western edge of the Roman city of Cologne. It formed part of the fortified wall built to protect the Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium. Archaeologists have found traces of its massive foundations near the junction of Bob- and Clemensstraße. The gate controlled a major road that left the city towards the south-west. This route later became the Luxemburger Straße, leading through the Eifel to Trier and Lyon. A milestone found along this road shows it was marked in Roman units called Leugae. The inscription honours the emperors Constantius and Maximianus, rulers of the late 3rd century. Visitors today can walk where the gate once stood. The remains include two thick side walls and a central pier that once held two arches. A stone staircase led up to the wall walk, and a drainage pipe carried waste water away. Nearby, fragments of a Jupiter temple and a colossal statue recall the gods once honoured here.